


Cinnamon and Szechuan

by enemytosleep



Category: Critical Role (Web Series), Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Bakery and Coffee Shop, Crossover, First Meetings, Gen, Pre-Canon, Walk Into A Bar
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-06
Updated: 2019-08-06
Packaged: 2020-07-28 07:55:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20060611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/enemytosleep/pseuds/enemytosleep
Summary: Ling travels West in search of answers and finds himself in the port city of Nicodranas. Jester is all too happy to make a new friend.





	Cinnamon and Szechuan

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for the 2019 Into A Bar Ficathon on DW.
> 
> Thank you for the read through, singedsun!

“For a crafting shop, it seems there is an awful lack of creativity on display, wouldn’t you say, my dear Jester?”

Jester giggled. “I think you’re right.”

She casually slid a small wooden box from the shop counter. It contained the oil sticks that she had convinced Blude to add to their shopping today, and she was eager to test them. She carefully moved the top panel to the side to reveal the assorted pigment sticks within, risking a quick glance over to Blude as he settled their bill with the clerk. They had come here to purchase papers and ink for her and her momma, as well as a few more paint pots for Jester’s growing collection, but these were new items freshly shipped from Marquet … and this was the perfect opportunity to try them.

The Traveller squeezed her shoulder, his pale hand barely visible beneath his rich green cloak, then drifted down one of the narrow shop aisles. Not a moment later, there was a loud crash as a shelf of bound sketchbooks tumbled to the floor along with the shelf they’d been sitting on. Both Blude and the shop keep turned to look for the cause of the commotion on the opposite end of the small store before the clerk hurriedly returned to wrapping her and momma’s supplies. Smiling wide, Jester picked a green pigment from her lot and began drawing on the counter’s front wall: a cartoon cat that was most definitely more phallic than feline.

********************

_What a fascinating city._

Ling carefully slipped his way through the crowd, taking in the sights as he wandered. The architecture was intriguing, but even more so were the people, if some of them could even be considered human. There were folks with varying shades of tanned, olive skin; some were even darker still. There were people who were quite short, even by Xingese standards, with great flowing beards and thick muscles. He’d even spotted a few men on the docks with pointed ears and sharp eyes whose souls felt distinctly not-human — but Ling didn’t feel unease in their presence. They were different, yes, but they posed no threat. Ling merely smiled and continued exploring the area quietly.

He knew that their ship had only docked for a quick resupply, but he would be remiss if he didn’t take the opportunity to explore some of Wildemount before they departed. Fuu and Ran Fan surely would have loved to see the white alabaster and opal city themselves, but they had only bought passage for Ling on the ship. In fact , they had snuck his royal guards on board with the cargo. Ling felt sorry that they had spent their time thus far below deck, but this mission was more important than a seaside view. They all knew this when they’d set out.

Still, he didn’t envy his position when they eventually discovered he’d left the ship without them.

Once away from the pier, it didn’t take long for Ling to find a short row of restaurants; their fragrant wares filled the streets with tempting bouquets of freshly baked breads, various ales, and salted meats. One such seller stood on the street with his small kitchen behind him, his assistant stretching noodle dough at the open counter. 

Ling approached, then tried to find the words he needed. It had been some time since he’d practiced the common tongue of the Exandrian nations.

“Excuse me. I would like to purchase some noodles, please.” Ling was pretty confident he’d done that right.

“Fish or pork?”

Ling pondered for a moment. They’d been enjoying hard tack and dried rations the last few weeks, and he very much wanted something fresh, anything.

“How about one of each?”

“That’ll be,” the man chuckled, visibly adding sums in his head. “That’ll be seven silver.”

Ling reach into his satchel and found his coin purse full of liang. _Hm, what was the ratio of liang to Exandrian coin again?_ The voice of his old tutor droned in his mind as he fingered the loose coins and estimated the exchange as best he could.

When he offered his money to the merchant, he knew immediately that he’d been wrong. 

“Sorry, I don’t know what those are. I’ll need real coin if you’re to purchase something.”

_I really was looking forward to fresh food, though._

********************

The afternoon sun was warm on Jester’s skin as the salty breeze tickled her sinuses. She could tell they were taking the long way back to the Lavish Chateau, and she was secretly grateful for the additional time outdoors. Blude always seemed to have a knack for knowing when she needed an extra errand trip.

As she skipped down the street, the small silver chains that decorated her horns bounced against the tips of her ears. She could almost hear the breeze waft through them over the gentle murmurs of conversations along the street.

She stopped, suddenly struck with inspiration, and turned back to her companion.

“Oh hey, Blude! Do you think we had time to, you know, stop for some pastries or something?” She waited a moment, her hands wringing the sides of her skirt as she bit her lip and pleaded with her dark eyes. “It’s just _such_ a nice day and I thought it might be nice to, like, sit outside and have a little snack before heading home. Don’t you think so?”

He chuckled, his large brown eyes warm and smiling. “Of course, Jester.”

“Oh I just _knew_ that you’d agree!” She twirled in place as he caught up to her, then strode past with purpose. 

“I wonder what friends we might meet along the way,” the smooth voice of the Traveller whispered to her.

She laughed and skipped her way down the street after Blude, completely sure that her adventure today had only just begun.

********************

“Nicodranas has the _best_ pastries in the whole world,” the young girl said, fangs flashing as she grinned. “I think it’s the cinnamon, but they’re definitely the best. Here, try them!”

She held out a round, flaky pastry topped in pearl sugar, which he accepted gratefully. On his first bite it was extremely sweet, almost too sweet, but he found he rather liked the taste that lingered, and he happily continued eating. 

“Thank you once again for offering to host me this afternoon. I did not expect to land in — you said this was Nicodranas?”

“Yes!”

“Right, I hadn’t expected to arrive here, but a great storm forced our captain to change our course. I’m very grateful for your help.”

“Well I mean yeah, of course, we couldn’t leave you hungry in the street! My name is Jester by the way, Jester Lavorre — and this is my friend, Blude!” She gestured to the large bipedal bull who stood next to her, an assortment of wrapped shopping packages tucked beneath a hulking, muscular arm. 

If he’d thought some of the locals he’d seen earlier had been odd, then these two surely won them out. He hadn’t managed to work out exactly what each of his hosts were, but they each spoke the common tongue and seemed intelligent enough. The girl was almost human looking, save for the deep blue hue of her skin, the curled horns on her head, and the long tail that swished with her flowing skirts as they walked. The man, well, by appearance he seemed more beast than man, his large body covered in fur. He walked on two hoofed feet with great horns atop his bovine skull. He wore only a silk vest with fine embroidery, the rest of him quite animal and free. Ling wasn’t one to look a gift horse in the face, though.

Ling bowed, the pastry tucked between his palms. “It is very nice to meet you both. I am Ling Yao, twelfth crown prince of Xing.”

“You know, for a prince it doesn’t look like you have very much money. Did you know?”

Ling laughed an honest laugh. It was an experience, if nothing else, to be spoken to so imperiously. He wasn’t offended, of course. He’d expected as much given his commoner’s dress and the secrecy of this expedition. His own people hadn’t recognized him on the street, so it would be unreasonable to expect a foreigner to show proper deference in this situation. Still, it entertained him that this girl spoke to him so easily, as though she were higher in station and not the reverse.

“I did know. It didn’t seem wise for me to travel in all the usual trappings of my status as heir.”

“I mean I guess that makes sense? But if you’re a real prince, then why did you come to Nicodranas on a trade ship and not some fancypants imperial ship? You _said_ it was a trading ship. Xing has fancy ships though, right? It’s like, a _huge_ empire, even bigger than the Dwendalian empire. Oh! Did you come here to take over the other empire?”

“Jester,” the large bull man interrupted. “Perhaps the young man would prefer not to talk about it?”

Ling waved his hand. “Oh it’s fine! We do, in fact, have an imperial fleet, though it has been quite some time since we’ve made use of it aside from the occasional envoy. And no,” he smirked, “I am not here to invade.”

“Okay, so why did you come on a trade ship, though?”

“It was best that watching eyes miss my departure from Xing, for political reasons. You understand, of course?”

“Oh yes, sure. Of course I do!” She quickly bit into her pastry, humming an unfamiliar tune as she chewed and looked away from him over toward the distant light tower.

A few weeks prior, Ling had booked passage in secret from Jiankang to Aerugo. The emperor’s health had begun to decline and each of the clans of Xing began to posture and maneuver to place their heir at the top of the succession line. It was tedious at best and lethal at worst. The attempts on his life as of late had grown more frequent and more precise. If Ling were to succeed in claiming the throne, he’d had to do something big.

So, he had left his homeland in disguise with two of his most trusted guards and set out to reach the neighboring country of Aerugo by means of a trading vessel; once there, he would cross the border to Amestris. Of course, that was before the storm had forced their ship to make port to the North. He would share none of that with his present company, however. There was no telling what unfriendly ears might overhear.

“You know,” Jester said through a mouthful of her second pastry. “It’s too bad that you don’t have any money, because then you could see my momma.”

That was … a curious statement if he’d heard one today. “I’m afraid I don’t understand what you mean.”

“You meant you _haven’t heard_ of the Ruby of the Sea?”

********************

Jester reached for the pâtisserie wrapper stuffed into her bag and fished for another chouquette, sad to discover it was the last of the baker’s dozen they’d purchased today. _Wow, that usually lasts me a few days, at least._ She glanced to her new friend as he worked on the remaining bits of his pastry, then back to Blude as he followed them as they all wandered the streets. Blude never had any interest in sweets, so Jester broke her final treat in two and offered half to Ling. _ I guess we were hungry!_

“Hey, maybe I should come visit you in Xing once you go back. How long do you think that will be?”

“I’m not sure you’re old enough for such a far journey, Jester.”

“I’m not a little kid, Blude, I’m fifteen now! I could go to Xing if I really wanted. Just to visit, of course; I mean, I’m sure I’d miss you and momma pretty quick, but I could go for a little while if I really wanted.”

“Oh, you’re fifteen?” Ling said through a mouthful of dough. “I’m also fifteen! Fate fortunes our meeting, it seems.”

“Oh my gosh, really? You look a lot older than fifteen!”

Blude laughed nearly as loudly as Ling, and she could feel herself blushing, though she wasn’t quite sure why. 

“I didn’t mean it in a bad way. You just seem really grown up and tall for fifteen is all.”

“Thank you.” Ling’s handsome smile lit in his dark eyes. “You seem quite grown up as well.”

Blude coughed twice, hard, and Jester turned on the spot to see if he was okay. There was a small ripping sound that felt as though it could have been her skirt, but she was far more concerned for Blude.

“Blude! Are you okay? Did you swallow a bug or something? Or do you need something to drink? We should get you something–“

“I’m fine,” he replied as he shifted their purchases from one arm to the other.

“I’d love a drink, if you’ll be stopping for drinks,” Ling said. “Though perhaps we should also find a seamstress for your dress…” 

He pointed to the hem of her outer skirt, and it didn’t take long for her to find where she had torn it on the shop sign sitting streetside. It was a small, fairly neat gash toward the bottom hem, maybe the length of her index finger.

“Oh that’s nothing. I’ll just use Mending.” 

She bent at the waist and placed her hands against the material of her skirt, palms flat, as she muttered the verbal components of her spell. In a flash, she could feel the magic flow through her as she watched the fabric knit itself together, not single a trace of the tear visible now.

“That was … was that alchemy? But you didn’t use a circle?” Ling moved closer and dropped to one knee right in the street, carefully examining the hem of her skirt that she’d just fixed.

“That was just a cantrip,” she giggled. “Don’t you have any magic in Xing?”

“We don’t call it magic, but there are unseen forces some users can use to perform acts that would otherwise be impossible. Tell me, how long have you studied this cantrip? Are there experts here in Nicodranas?”

“Um … I mean I learned from the Traveller. Have you ever heard of the Traveller? He’s the best!”

Ling stood once again, chin rested in one hand, his eyes focused on something beyond them as he stood quietly.

“If you’re looking to study magic, the biggest academies belong to the Cerberos Assembly in the Empire,” Blude added. “Around these parts it’s mostly private study with tutors; to the best of my knowledge, anyway.” 

“Yeah, like how I’ve been learning! So do you know the Traveller, because if not, I can introduce you.”

“We have stories in Xing, of a traveller whom we call the Sage of the West. He taught our ancestors how to read the Dragon’s Pulse, and how to harness its power to reshape the world around them. It’s mainly used medicinally, but it’s possible it could be used for other purposes as well.”

“Really?” Jester had known the Traveller for many years now, but he’d been her first friend, and as far as she knew, she’d been his first as well.

“Of course,” Ling continued, “those stories are ancient, so it’s hard to know which parts are true.”

“That would be _so cool_ if the Traveller taught your ancestors magic!” Jester knew exactly what she would add to her sketchbook when she got home later.

“I’m sorry, my large friend, you said that there were academies in the empire to the North?”

********************

As they sat outside the small café, sipping their drinks, Ling pondered his options. The information he’d gathered prior to his departure had all suggested the answers he sought lie to the West in Amestris with its alchemy; but now, well, now he had more information than he knew what to do with to be quite honest.

Should he stay the course and continue as planned? Should he and his trusted guard head North instead?

He knew little of Amestris, but he knew even less of the Dwendalian empire. It would be far more risky to stay here in Wildemount with so little information. The entire plan was risky, though, no matter which course he pursued.

The devil girl said something, then laughed behind her cup as her pet smiled and nodded. He’d been too large for the café chairs, and so he’d remained standing while Ling and the girl sat at an adjacent table and ordered drinks. The bull flicked one soft ear and glanced toward the roof just as Ling felt them.

‘Young Master! There you are.” Fuu was chastising him, even though they both knew it was futile.

“I’m so glad you could join us!” Ling raised his free hand to indicate his afternoon hosts. “This lovely girl took kindly to me and treated me to the local cuisine. This is quite the city!”

“Master, the ship is nearly finished loading its supplies. We should return with haste.”

“Oh Ran Fan, always to the point.” He took a final, draining sip of the foaming coffee with cinnamon his new friend had ordered for him. He would have to remember this once he ascended the throne. Xing had coffee, of course, but this drink was an art that required an expert’s touch — and he would be sure to import such experts. 

“Oh no, are you leaving already?” the girl whined, her tail curling around her calf. “But we were just getting to be good friends!”

Ling grasped her hands in his and leaned forward to kiss her knuckles. “Thank you once more for your gracious hospitality. I promise that upon my return to Xing, I will have the imperial scribes include your aid to emperor in Xing’s great history as the story of The Blue Devil of Nicodranas and Her Talking Pet Bull.” 

She pulled away from him and slammed her palms to the small table. “Blude is not my pet! He’s my friend! He helps me and my momma with things, like shopping and delivering things to and from the courier and he…”

_Fascinating. _


End file.
